1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ejector mechanism of a connector, and especially to an ejector mechanism for use in a PCMCIA connector.
2. The Prior Art
PCMCIA card connectors have become popular in portable computers. The card connectors are commonly configured with an ejector mechanism having a lever for driving an ejecting plate to disconnect and eject IC cards therefrom.
A conventional ejector mechanism, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises a lever 10 having a fulcrum 18 formed at an intermediate portion thereof for pivotably fixing to a header portion 17 of a PCMCIA connector 19. The header portion 17 is fixed to a front end of a frame 14. Normally, an IC card 15 is inserted from a rear end of the frame 14 to engage with the header portion 17 of the connector 19. The lever 10 has a first end movably connected to a push bar 12 and driven thereby to pivot about the fulcrum 18. A handle 13 is formed at one end of the push bar 12. A second end of the lever 10 is connected to an ejection plate 11 which is activated by a driving force from the lever 10 when a force is exerted on the push bar 12. The lever 10 is shown in two sets of phantom lines to illustrate the movement thereof. The phantom line portions of the handle 13 and the IC card 15 also illustrate the respective movements thereof.
A drawback of this design is that a portion of the handle 13 extends beyond the rear end of the frame 14 thereby occupying excess space and potentially damaging the handle 13 due to an external force acting thereon. In addition, a predetermined force must be exerted on the handle 13 to withdraw the IC card 15 from the connector. Moreover, the lever structure is complicated thereby increasing manufacturing costs.
Therefore, it is requisite to provide a new ejector mechanism which does not require a lever whereby a card can be ejected therefrom with less force than the prior art.